Acid reflux & elevated bed - am I damaging myself?

Body: 

Hello all,
I'm new to this website.

I have been dealing with acid reflux for many years. I've worked my way through all the known medications and have found that the only way to manage my terrible reflux is to follow my GP's advice. she told me to elevate the top of my bed using bricks. I have been sleeping on an elevated bed now for the last 5 years. It is raised by 13". Essentially, I sleep on a slope and actually slide down the bed by morning. Removing the slope and just using pillows doesn't work because this causes a curvature in your back, but the slope allows your body to be straight, just the head elevated.

I have just been diagnosed with a grade 3 uterine prolapse. I have mild symptoms that feel like hemorroids.

My concern... is my tilted bed causing me my problems? I sleep on my side. Is the gravity that is helping my acid reflux making my prolapse worse?

When I learned of the prolapse, I lowered my bed to a level position and the acid reflux returned immediately with a vengence.

Thanks for any advice. Very concerned here about how to proceed.

Things that are helpful for your gut:
Fermented foods: homemade yogurt, really high quality sauerkraut the best you can find ie. "KrazyKraut"
Fermented Non-alcoholic wine--"Ariel," less than 1/2% of 1% alcohol, all the health benefits of wine without the harmful alcohol!
Fermented homemade yogurt---check out Lucyskitchenshop.com to get all the yogurt making stuff and she has a great probiotic if you missed eating fermented foods one day.
Haven't tried the fermented sourdough bread yet but Christine recommends this fermented food as well as the yogurt and sauerkraut. I did purchase a starter from I think its "real cultures.com" I try and stay away from bread, pasta, potatoes and other starchy foods that turn to sugar and of course stay away from sugar as much as possible. Good quality raw HONEY is your friend, but not a lot! You can check out "Breakingthe vicious cycle.com for information on Illegal and Legal foods. Read about Elaine Gottschall the author of this diet. Christine reiterated to me to eat more fermented foods and it has helped immensely!

Hi Luba and welcome,

While we can never know for sure about any one woman’s specific condition, generally speaking I think it’s possible that sleeping in this way may be causing gravitational forces to negatively affect your pelvic organ support system.

First of all, you need to understand that your uterus forms a right angle with your vagina and is positioned against your lower abdominal wall. Your bladder also forms a right angle with your urethra, and your sigmoid colon forms a right angle with your rectum.

These angles are created by curvature that develops in the lower spine as we stand up as toddlers. By age three, females have a very pronounced lumbar curve - genetically more pronounced than males. With each in-breath the respiratory diaphragm works with the lumbar spine to push the uterus and bladder into the rounded lower belly. The pelvic organs are supported by the lower abdominal wall, not a “pelvic floor”. The muscular pelvic diaphragm is a wall of muscle at the back of the body whose primary purpose is controlling intraabdominal pressure. Prolapsed organs are pulled away from their positions at the front, and pushed through the opening at the back. Since the beginning of the gynecologic perspective, which includes only that diamond-shaped area visible on the lithotomy table, it has been assumed that a "weak pelvic floor" is the cause of prolapse. Nothing could be further from the truth.

This structural system is our pelvic organ support system. It works beautifully until it is compromised by all the lifestyle factors that cause us to lose lumbar curvature.

When you sleep on your side in a somewhat fetal position, your lumbar curve is obliterated. Yet, the system is not gravity-free because of the tilt of your bed.

We have a better solution!

I call the stomach and liver “postural organs” because in natural posture, which is evidenced in every young child, the upper abdominal wall is held out. The stomach and liver are positioned directly behind by the upper abdominal wall. Not only the pelvic organs, but all organs that move fluid through the body sit at right angles to their channels.

In natural posture the stomach is positioned at a right angle to its channel, the esophagus. When the midriff area is chronically pulled in however, and most modern women cultivate a small midriff, the stomach in pulled into line with the esophagus. These women become much more subject to acid reflux and hiatal hernia because the contents of the stomach is now easily sucked up the pipe. It is these angles that prevent reflux at the top end of the system, and prolapse and incontinence at the bottom.

If you begin living in WW posture, where the midriff is held out, never in, you may find, as many others have, that reflux symptoms are ameliorated, while prolapse symptoms improve.

These different bodily systems develop as we become bipedal, and when they become compromised they require bipedal treatment. This is why I always say, “The work gets done while you’re on your feet.”

Wishing you well,

Christine